Im interested to know at what point

RE: Im interested to know at what point

Wicca is a specific branch of witchcraft. IOW they have their little rules and things you have to follow to be able to be one. There are also quite a few different factions in Wicca.
Some Wiccans say they are not Pagan and some say they are. In fact any belief form or system, which worships the earth or goddesses, falls under the umbrella of Pagan beliefs. So Wicca is a Pagan belief system.

Some Wiccans will tell you, if you don’t belong to a Wiccan coven and gone through specific initiations, then you can’t call yourself Wiccan.
But there are people who are lone witches (hedgewitches) who calls themselves Wicca as they follow the specific Wicca dogma…

There are quite a lot of very informative and helpful websites on the internet covering the Wicca belief system. Just pit the word Wicca in your search engine...

Amber

RE: Im interested to know at what point

Hi Amber,

Thanks for the reply. To become wiccan do you have to find a teacher? you can read about it and think about it but to practise it, do you have to have guidance from someone who has done it for years?

wishes xx

RE: Im interested to know at what point

onmywishlist...

To become a true Wicca you would have to belong to a coven. It is not easy to find these, as they can be very secretive...

But there are several books out on the market about how to become a Wiccan on your own (lone witch). So I guess it brings us back to what I said above... There are many factions within Wicca now. The basic belief system (the groundwork) is basically the same, but the practices differ.

IMO, you don't need a teacher at all. Just guidance from someone who knows the path and/or a good book or an online Wicca community who can guide you through it step by step.

My partner is a hedgewitch (not Wiccan) and he was once part of a Wiccan coven for a short while... They can be quite dogmatic, but if that is the path you are interested and you want to do it 100% properly and learn how they really do it, then I suggest you try and find a coven. There is a lot that you learn and do in a coven (initiations and true celebration of the different sabbats) that you won't necessarily ever be exposed to or learn while doing it on your own via a book or an online community.

It all depends on what you are guided in yourself to do.

Amber

RE: Im interested to know at what point

Onmywishlist...

Yes, I would probably call myself a Wiccan, however I'm not in a coven - yet. As Amber said it is quite hard to find covens and it's not very often that they are looking for new members. I would most definitely call myself a pagan as well.
I started out on my own by reading as many books I could find on the subject. Wicca has always been there in my life since I wrote an essay about the witch hunts in school when I was 16. Now I couldn't live without it, Wicca (to me) is a lifestyle, belief system and a joyous celebration of nature, love and life.

Most wiccans live by the Wiccan Rede, which basically means 'an ye harm none do what ye will'.

There are a few good websites out there, avalonia.co.uk and witchcraft.org. You can also find local moots on these websites where you can meet like-minded.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like some more information about my personal view and wicca practice.

Moongirl x

RE: Im interested to know at what point

🙂 thanks again, will read up.

I have pm'd you Moongirl.

RE: Im interested to know at what point

Are you interested in Wicca or Witchcraft onmywishlist (or both)?

RE: Im interested to know at what point

Very good question Doogs... I was wondering the same... 🙂

Amber

RE: Im interested to know at what point

Hi,

To be honest, i wasnt quite sure at first as i had a friend who was a green witch(going back a few years)some of the things she talked about at that time interested me but at that point in my life wasnt for me.

From what i have read so far it seems they do overlap somewhat but its not about casting spells for me, although i would love to be part of something positive in that way, its about being apart of something that is important to me so i err to Wicca, it is early days and i will see where it takes me, but Moongirl has given me some brill information and a website that i will visit and get some books.

I do hold personal believes that are part of me and i am constantly evolving as a person, I am willing to learn, i thought for a while it was a more main stream religion calling but when i looked into most of them i didnt feel 'it'.

Why do you ask Doogle? Are you Wicca, or is it are you wiccan? (sorry not sure how to phrase it!)

RE: Im interested to know at what point

Onmywishlist..

Firstly in answer to your question, no I'm not wiccan.
Traditionally Wicca is covan based, although people are tending to call themselves Wiccan rather than witch, don't understand why, but each to their own. You would normaly find a covan and then be initiated into the covan, Gardinarian covans usually have a novice period prior to initiation, usually a year and a day. During this time you learn about the craft and prepare for your initiation. It gives you time to get the feel of the covan and them you. During this time the novice would be trained, but would not take part in much of the working of the covan. This gives time for a bond of trust to build.

Wicca itself can only trace its roots to 1951/52 and the repeal of the Wichcraft Act. Prior to this time Witchcraft was illegal, so not many substantiated records of practice exist.

The name Wicca is said to be taken from old english and (if this is true) means wise. There are many historical records of settlements having a Wise woman/man.

If I can help please feel free to PM me and I will do my best.

RE: Im interested to know at what point

Hi onmywishlist

No real reason, just sometimes people can get confused between the two when starting out.

Personally no I'm not a Wiccan but I am a Witch. If you had asked how do you know when you are a Witch I would of said 'When you feel like one in your heart'. I'm afraid I don't know much about Wiccan rules, I don't like to work with 'on this day you do this, on that day you light this colour candle' so I honour the God and Goddess, try to by one with nature and maybe pop in the odd spell here or there if I feel the need. I like to work by intuition. Saying that, of course I do celebrate the Sabbats.

For me being a Witch is all about being connected to the Earth around us and the changes of the season.

I'll also add my name to people offering help via PM if you would like it 🙂

RE: Im interested to know at what point

Big thanks for all your help [sm=grouphug.gif]

xxx jackie

RE: Im interested to know at what point

Hi
Im a solitary witch and would call myself a wiccan also.
If anyone would like to chat pm me

RE: Im interested to know at what point

I'm wiccan because i believe that you have the right to believe in what you desire to. I was raised as a child to be part of a certain relgion and after I grew older,I drifted off from that relgion and the family that believed it.
I explored many belief's and ways of life for some years, I didn't just step right into this, and I'm still learning as I go along. I do however believe that my past life has drawn me to this for some reason that I don't know of. Being a wiccan has made me more secured, and for some reason I feel safer then i do with other belief's.

RE: Im interested to know at what point

I practice Witchcraft & consider myself Pagan but I am not Wiccan. I disagree on the idea that one has to be initiated & part of a coven to be able to call themselves Wiccan though. It's a way of life. Can someone call themselves Christian if theyhave not been christened & don't attend church regularly? If Christianity is their chosen path then of course they can. It's the same thing with Wicca. It's about your belief system, not about initiation rituals.

RE: Im interested to know at what point

The debate on wether or not you have to be initiated to call yourself Wiccan is interesting. Wicca was formed as a religion in the early 5o's after the repeal of the Witchcraft act in 1952. The religion was formed by Gerald Gardiner and Alexander Saunders with, I belive, some input from the infamous Alister Crowley. Since they worked as a covan and had initiation into the covan, it logicly follows that wicca is a covan based initiatory branch of wichcraft, and not a religion in its own right. It is alledged that Gardiner took much of the basis for this new "religion" from working with hereditory witches in the New Forrest area. (This has never been proven to the best of my knowlege). Wiccans can trace their "familly tree" back to Gardiner or Alexander. This forms the basis for Gardinarian and Alexandrian covans. Both follow the same general blueprint, however their practice differs. Much the same as Catholics and Protestants within christianity. The rest of us (solitary witches) have no need for the dogma associated with traditional wicca. I have had the good fortune to work with a wiccan covan (I was never initiated though), and have discussed this at length with people who are feircley proud of their liniage. Many of these people can be found on most of our bookshelves.
As christianity spilt and wicca split at the beginning we now have a new group coming forward, the solitary wiccan. Many "old school" wiccans would spit fur balls the size of their black feline familiar at the thought of such a thing, but they wrote the books that people are now comming to the craft through and since they describe in detail wiccan practice people call themselves wiccan. The craft is growing and that is the most important thing.

Neil C

I agree

very good point! it seems tedious just to be called wicca/wiccan you have to join a coven, I think not! though I have only just been getting into this wicca stuff my self (a month an a half ago) I have always felt that way before I started looking into this and taking into consideration a lot of covens don't want new members and stay hidden away anyway. I totally agree with you, it is a way of life. I like to think that I have been spiritually minded since I can remember and feel attached to what nature brings us each season, it is a blessing each year so I am very much close to nature to. and the way I also see wicca is my way of religion and I'm learning some thing new about it all the time (I wished I could learn it faster though, lol), I will say though being wiccan/wicca is not all about doing spells there is more to it than that. hope all that makes sense.

Take care

I practice Witchcraft & consider myself Pagan but I am not Wiccan. I disagree on the idea that one has to be initiated & part of a coven to be able to call themselves Wiccan though. It's a way of life. Can someone call themselves Christian if theyhave not been christened & don't attend church regularly? If Christianity is their chosen path then of course they can. It's the same thing with Wicca. It's about your belief system, not about initiation rituals.

Very interesting read.As some may know i only started my "wiccan" path last year & am following wheel of year & learning as i go.I can honestly say that this past year has been one of the most happiest contented of my life,i feel i have come home,so yes i do call myself Wiccan,as to me the word sits freely with who i am. I have no rules and am taking a slow approach.......feel afraid of established covens at the moment but that is all part of journey & learning,i am sure at some stage I wil feel different.

since i have been doing rituals & casting spells,the benefits in my life are there for everyone to see........

Moontara xxx

Hi Amber,

Thanks for the reply. To become wiccan do you have to find a teacher? you can read about it and think about it but to practise it, do you have to have guidance from someone who has done it for years?

wishes xx

Hiya,i dont personally think you need a teacher to "become" Wiccan or to practice the Craft..
I think its something you know inside your self,something that makes sense to you..XXX